Ballistic Combat Helmet with Two Side Wing Face Guards

ABSTRACT

A ballistic armor helmet of parts which allow the helmet to be configured for particular uses and threats. The ballistic armor helmet is provided with two side wings which are fastened, removably or otherwise, to the helmet. Each side wing is fashioned of ballistic material and has a vertical part which extends downwardly to a position below the user&#39;s ear, and a front part which projects frontwardly from the vertical part to shield a portion of the user&#39;s cheek and provide additional sideward protection. With both side wings in place the front of the user&#39;s face is still unobstructed, as there is a substantial gap between the front parts of the side wings, leaving the user free to speak, eat, and breath without significant obstruction. The side wings may be attached by one or more fasteners.

CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No. 11/934,269, filed Nov. 2, 2007, and claims the benefit of U.S. provisional app. 60/864,362, filed Nov. 3, 2006, the disclosures of which are incorporated by reference herein.

STATEMENT AS TO RIGHTS TO INVENTIONS MADE UNDER FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

Not applicable.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to ballistic armor helmets in general and ballistic armor helmets constructed of more than one piece in particular.

From at least the earliest days of recorded history soldiers have worn helmets to protect their head from injuries from blows and projectiles. Even today a major location of lethal battlefield injuries remains the head. There is a continued importance of maximizing protection for the head in the form of a helmet. Helmets have always had two problems which limited their effectiveness: one is weight, the other is comfort. If the helmet weighs too much it interferes with movement of the head, if the helmet is too uncomfortable it is difficult to make the soldiers wear them at all times. In modern times the problem of greater ballistic protection without debilitating weight has been addressed through the use of composite armor fabricated from ballistic fabrics such as Kevlar® material, a type of Aramid fiber ballistic Nylon®, a meta-aramid such as Nomex® fibers, Twaron® a para-aramid fiber, and Spectra® fibers, an extended-chain ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene fiber, in a matrix of thermoset or thermoplastic material, or using structural reaction injection molding (RIM) technology. Comfort, particularly thermal comfort, can be addressed by limiting the areas of the head protected.

The downside of composite ballistic armor is substantial additional cost, and the downside of limiting the area of head protection is greater vulnerability to lethal or debilitating head injury. What is needed is a ballistic armored helmet which provides greater coverage of a soldier's head and which would results in less head-related casualties, in that a helmet of greater coverage provides greater protection.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The ballistic combat helmet of this invention accomplishes greater ballistic protection, through the use of multiple shell pieces assembled together to make a single helmet. The present helmet resulting in a helmet which covers a greater percentage of the head.

The ballistic armor helmet has parts which allow the helmet assembly to be configured for particular uses and threats. The ballistic armor helmet is provided with two side wings which are fastened, removably or otherwise, to the helmet. Each side wing is fashioned of ballistic material and has a vertical part which extends downwardly to a position below the user's ear, and a front part which projects frontwardly from the vertical part to shield a portion of the user's cheek and provide additional sideward protection. With both side wings in place the front of the user's face is still unobstructed, as there is a substantial gap between the front parts of the side wings, leaving the user free to speak, eat, and breath without significant obstruction. The side wings may be attached by one or more fasteners.

It is a further feature of the present invention to provide a ballistic helmet which provides greater protection to the wearer.

It is yet another feature of the present invention to provide a type of ballistic helmet which can be designed and manufactured more easily to conform to a set of requirements.

Further objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side elevational illustrative view of a ballistic helmet with nape protector, and a face shield.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring more particularly to FIG. 1 wherein like numbers refer to similar parts, a ballistic helmet 194 is illustrated. The helmet has a front portion 195 and a rear portion 198 which are joined together to form the helmet 194. Both the front portion and the rear portion define distinctly formed shell elements, which, when assembled, define the complete ballistic protective helmet. By “ballistic protective material” is meant a material which is capable of stopping a ballistic projectile, ranging from low velocity projectiles such as various shrapnel and explosive fragments, to typical handgun rounds, to high speed rifle rounds. Ballistic protective elements will typically be rated from low, for example capable of stopping a handgun round, to high, for example capable of stopping a rifle round. An element which has a high ballistic rating is better able to protect against faster, more pointed, or more massive items impacting the element.

As shown in FIG. 1, the ballistic helmet assembly 194 may be a modular arrangement of parts which allow the helmet assembly to be configured for particular uses and threats. A particular user can assess the relative value of added protection versus the additional weight and encumbrance of more parts. The helmet assembly 194 has a front helmet portion 196 which is fixed to a rear helmet portion 198 with a gap 200 therebetween. The front helmet portion 196 and rear helmet portion 198 define a ballistic helmet 195.

The assembly 194 is provided with one or two side wings 206 which may be fastened, removably or otherwise, to the rear portion 198 or to the front portion 196. Each side wing 206 is fashioned of ballistic material, for example the same material from which the helmet portions are fabricated, and has a vertical part 208 which extends downwardly to a position below the user's ear, and a front part 210 which projects frontwardly from the vertical part to shield a portion of the user's cheek and provide additional sideward protection. With both side wings 206 in place the front of the user's face is still unobstructed, as there is a substantial gap between the front parts 210 of the side wings, leaving the user free to speak, eat, and breath without significant obstruction. Although side wings 206 may be worn on both sides for the additional ballistic protection offered, a user may choose to omit one of the side wings in order to have more effective access to a rifle, allowing the user to rest one cheek on the rifle stock, while still having the opposite cheek protected. The side wings 206 may be attached by one or more fasteners 212 such as bolts, or may be more permanently connected such as by adhesive or other bonding.

It is understood that the invention is not limited to the particular construction and arrangement of parts herein illustrated and described, but embraces all such modified forms thereof as come within the scope of the following claims. 

We claim:
 1. A ballistic helmet assembly comprising: a ballistic helmet which mounts to the head of a user and which has a front and a rear and two opposite sides; a first side wing which is formed of ballistic material and which is removably mounted to one of the sides of the ballistic helmet, the first side wing having a vertical part which extends downwardly from the ballistic helmet to a level to be below an ear of the user, and a front part which projects frontwardly from the vertical part to extend along a cheek of the user; and a second side wing which is formed of ballistic material and which is mounted to the other one of the sides of the ballistic helmet, the second side wing having a vertical part which extends downwardly from the ballistic helmet and a front part which projects frontwardly from the vertical part. 